I’m baffled by the assumptions evident in some of these articles. I am not the least bit excited by the prospect of waiting in the rain or snow to eat Souper Market soup or Aladdin’s spinach piesl; These items are already easily available. I am excited by the possibly that Cleveland will successfully copy at least one of the food truck concepts that I’ve seen or read about in New York, Los Angeles or Portland.
Below, I’ve included some pictures from a recent trip to Los Angeles. I think there are nine different trucks. These were all within walking distance of one another, although not all on the same day. There were three different korean bbq trucks. There are at least two different Korean taco trucks. There’s a Chinese taco truck, too. Follow some of the links from this page to get an idea of the variety of food truck choice available in Los Angeles.
One of the most frustrating facts in all of this is that Columbus somehow manages to support a healthy community of taco trucks. See: Taco Trucks in Columbus Ohio
The first three pictures are from Dessert Truck in New York. Those desserts are as good as anything I’ve had in any restaurant, anywhere. Then a couple pictures from a cart in Flushing, Queens. This vendor grills on charcoal. For more New York inspiration visit: The 2009 Vendy Awards
Then check out some of the pictures in this Bon Appetit article about food trucks in Portland: The Art of the Street Cart . I’m currently considering a trip to Portland and looking forward to earning my Ziggy’s wagon badge on Foursquare. I’m looking forward to a day when I can earn a Ziggy’s wagon badge in Cleveland and have it mean something more than that I ate three pale, boiled, bland hot dogs.
Amen brother. Also, I’m all for govt intervention where it helps, but not sure I’m down with govt supported food vendors. Much less govt vetted food vendors. I eat lunch out downtown nearly every day, so I want to be excited, but I just don’t think FJ et al. know what I, or anyone will really eat. The City is not in the restaurant mgt business.
I’d like to see a Portland style free for all. This is a business with relatively low start-up costs–I always thought that was one of its main appeals. Plus the parking lots down here aren’t exactly full–I’m sure they’d consider renting out space a la many PDX food carts. If a person can’t get $ for a parking spot and a trailer, I’d be concerned about that person’s ability to run a sustainable business.
I just can’t figure out a good reason for the city to oversee this. Health inspections–fine. Menu planning–not cool.